Vehicle distress tone generator



Aug. 12, 1969 F. c. TRUMBLE 3,461,423

VEHICLE DISTRESS TONE GENERATOR Filed July 27. 1 966 IVI? TONE GENERATORMODULATOR c 6 v 5 a l I4 TONE swag/non AMPLIFIER A? /3 3 4 TONEGENERATOR XMTR 235538:

I60 [60 l l /6AI f'/ 5 l 8.0. I 1/ A RECEIVER| E\ 1/ 1 04 17 L J I61 J|l5 I I ZENERf E 26 20 I 2 W /9 INVENTOR.

FRANK C. TRUMBLE' United States Patent 3,461,423 VEHICLE DISTRESS TONEGENERATOR Frank C. Trumble, 910 Palm Ave., Carlsbad, Calif. 92008 FiledJuly 27, 1966, Ser. No. 559,228 Int. Cl. B60q 5/00; G08b 1/08; B60r25/00 U.S. Cl. 340-52 4 Claims This invention relates to a multipositionautomatic mechanical electronic actuator switch capable of deliveringcontinuously until manually disengaged, a pre-selected tone-generatedsignal to an audio input circuit of a radiotelephone transmitter, andmore partcularly for the purpose thereby of producing a signal thatindicates a particular condition at the point of origin for the solepurpose of preserving lives and protecting property in vehicles.

An object of the present invention is to provide an economical methodand means of emergency one-way communication between apassenger-carrying vehicle and other radio communication stations orother means adequate and available for the purpose of preserving livesand protecting property.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of automaticallyactivating a distress tone generator when subjected to a sharpacceleration, deceleration or impact from any direction of apredetermined amplitude of force, thereby generating a signal thatindicates critical danger to life and property.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method ofautomatically activating a switch in the event the motor of a vehicle isstarted without first turning the regular ignition switch to the on oroperate position, thereby generating a signal that indicates danger toproperty by theft, tampering or unauthorized use, and will continue togenerate the signal until the motor of the passenger-carrying vehicle isstopped, and to resume functioning in a like manner each time the motorof the vehicle is started without the regular ignition switch beingturned to the on position, thereby starting and stopping each time, themotor is started and stopped as described.

A still further object of the invention is to provide instant notice ofdanger to life and property over a much greater area than is nowprovided by other means and to provide this means at a greatly reducedcost to the user.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide instant notice ofdanger to life and property without the necessity of physical or vocaleffort on the part of any person for as long a period as necessary, andwithout any skill or prior training on the part of any person, orknowledge of any language necessary to convey the immediate needs of thevictims.

These and other objects and advantages will be noted from the followingdetailed description taken together with the accompanying drawing inwhich like reference numerals designate like parts throughout thefigures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram in block and schematic form representing thepreferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a more detailed diagram of a part of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, vehicle battery 2 is connected to arm 3 ofswitch 1, an inertial switch 16 having contacts 16A through E, contact17A of solenoid 17, and ignition switch 20 through resistance wire 21.All circuits and switches are in open position and have no function inthe normal operation of the vehicle or of the regular broadcast receiverif one is already installed in the vehicle until one of them isactivated manually or automatically for the preservation of life orprotection of property.

For example, in the event of a serious accident to the vehicle withpossible attendant injury to the occupants or the occupants of a secondvehicle, the switch 1 can be 3,461,423 Patented Aug. 12, 1969 manuallyswitched to position A, arm 3 will complete a circuit through contact 4from the vehicle battery 2 to tone generator 7, which in turn activatesmodular 10, amplifier 11, and transmitter 12, the output of which iscoupled to antenna 14 through antenna coupler 13 for broadcasting. Thetone generator is shown in three components, although in physicalconstruction, a single generator is contemplated with electroniccircuitry well understood by those skilled in the art that will generatethree separate and instantly identifiable tones as switch arm 3 isswitched to position contacts A, B or C. Each contact completes acircuit through the tone generator where the separate tone signals shownseparately in the diagram as tone generator A7, tone generator B8, andtone generator C9, to the input of modulator 10.

In the event the impact of the vehicle with another object is of suchseverity as to render the occupants unconscious, or unable to manuallyactivate the mechanical contactor, a deceleration of such impact orupset to the vehicle is of sufiicient G force to activate the inertialcontactor 16. Upon activation, inertial contactor 16, which has beenheld in the open position until acted upon by a predetermined G force,instantly closes contacts 16A, 16B, 16C and 16D, which completescircuits from the battery 2 to activate tone generator A7, the modulator10, amplifier 11, and transmitter 12, respectively. As a further aid topossibly injured occupants of the vehicle, and to insure functioning inthe proper manner of all components of the circuitry, separateelectronic energizing contacts are completed through inertial switchcontact 16B to the modulator 10, through inertial switch contact 16C tothe amplifier, and through inertial switch contact 16D to thetransmitter. In those instances where the vehicle is already equippedwith separate and independent two-way shortwave broadcast equipment notindependently energized by the battery 2, such energy will be initiatedthrough inertial switch contact 16E which energizes coil 21 and closesswitch 22, which in closing completes the circuitry in the transmitterby the bypassing of the transmitters normal activation switch anddelivering the current being supplied through inertial switch contact16D directly to the transmitter 12, and thereby activating all circuits,permitting the transmitter 12 to function as described before. Once theinertial contactor has been overcome by the application of thepredetermined G force and all inertial switch contacts have beencompleted, the inertial contactor will remain in a closed position asnoted before until manually opened. In the event of a serious ordisabling illness of the driver or passenger of a vehicle, or for otherreasons that prompt medical attention is imperative, the switch arm 3may be manually switched to position B where contact 5 makes a circuitwith the battery 2 and the tone generator to produce tone B8, which inturn delivers the tone B to the modulator 10 in the same manner asstated before for tone A, with modulation amplification and transmissioncarried on as for tone A.

In the event of the disablement of the vehicle in a location whereaccess to public or other communication means is not possible, and inorder to provide for the protection of the vehicle, the driver orpassenger can manually switch the mechanical contactor 3 to a position Cwhere contact 6 will complete the circuit from the battery 2 to the tonegenerator to produce tone C9, which in turn delivers the tone C to themodulator 12 as stated before for tones A and B.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2, protection of property isprovided in the event of theft, tampering, or otherwise unauthorized usewithout utilizing the normal ignition switch to operate the vehicle,such as when the ignition key is unavailable. In this circumstance,recognizing the principle well-known by those skilled in the art, thatan electrical current must pass through the ignition coil 19 in order todeliver the necessary voltage to distributor 27. Regardless of themethod used to bypass the normal circuit through the ignition switch 20,as soon as sufiicient voltage appears across the terminals of theignition coil 19 with the ignition switch 20 of the vehicle in the openposition, a curren will flow through solenoid 17 and Zener diode 18 toground, energizing solenoid coil 17. Solenoid coil 17 closes its contact17A, connecting the battery 2 to the tone generator tone B8, modulator10, amplifier 11, and transmitter 12, in the same manner as when thetone generator is activated by switch arm 3 being turned to position B.However, in the event the ignition coil of the vehicle is energized inthe normal manner by the closing of the ignition switch 20, current tocoil 17 is blocked from the coil by Zener diode 18. Resistance wire 26reduces the output from the battery 2 from 12 volts to approximately 8volts. This voltage is further reduced by the ohmic resistance of thecoil 19 to apprximately 7 volts, which is the voltage that goes to thepoints in the distributor 27 and then to ground. Various methods,including a tailor-made keyless ignition switch recently placed on themarket are used to jump or drive a car without going through theignition switch. One of these methods is placing a short from thebattery 2 to coil 19 as indicated by dotted line 28. However, in all ofthese instances, a full 12 volts are delivered to the coil with asubsequent or more volts coming out of the coil and passing to thedistributor. In this instance, the Zener diode 18 breaks down at 9.5 andthe coil is energized when this excess voltage is delivered to theignition switch. With the ignition switch properly closed, the voltageis reduced below the breakdown voltage of the Zener.

The inventor has contemplated coupling the passengercarrying vehicleantenna 14- through an antenna coupler 13 which will permit use of thesingle antenna either individually or simultaneously for a normalbroadcast receiver 15 of the vehicle if one is present. Various devicesfor this purpose are well-known to those skilled in the art and furtherdescription herein is not considered pertinent to the invention, or inany way necessary for its proper performance, its indicated use beingincluded as an alternative to having additional antennas installed onthe vehicle for each type of service.

Those skilled in the art will readily note from the foregoing that eachof the three tone signals or the inertial contactors activated by themechanical contactor will continue to be produced and propagated for aslong a period as necessary without physical or vocal efforts on the partof those in need of assistance and without any skill or prior trainingon their part or a knowledge of language necessary to convey theimmediate needs of the victims. Each tone produced signifies only onecondition and will only be utilized in cases of emergency or seriousdanger to life or property to indicate that condition, either manuallyor automatically. Each tone generated has an instantly recognizable anddistinctive tone.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosurerelates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that it isintended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of theinvention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure which do notconstitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A distress tone generator for generating a distress tone from avehicle comprising:

a plurality of tone generators for producing a plurality of distincttones different from each other, each of said tone generators having anoutput;

a modulator having an input and an output, said modulator input coupledto said plurality of tone generators output;

a transmitter having a modulator input and output, said transmittersmodulator input connected to said modulators output;

an antenna coupled to said transmitters output;

a plurality of switching means for coupling a power source to one ofsaid plurality of tone generators and said modulator and transmitter.

2. The distress tone generator of claim 1 wherein:

one of said plurality of switches com-prises a manually operatedmultiposition switch for supplying power to any one of the plurality oftone generators.

3. The distress tone generator of claim 1 wherein:

one of said plurality of switches comprises an inertially operatedswitch for connecting a power supply to one of said plurality of tonegenerators.

4. The distress tone generator of claim 1 wherein:

one of said plurality of switch means comprises solenoid-operatedcontacts for connecting a power supply to one of said pluralityof tonegenerators, said solenoid being coupled in serial relationship with aZener diode between one side of said power source and an ignition coilside of an ignition switch in said vehicle, said Zener diode having abreakdown voltage higher than voltage coupled to said Zener diode fromsaid power source through said ignition switch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,230,454 l/1966 Van Burkleo340224 XR ALVIN H. WARING, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

1. A DISTRESS TONE GENERATOR FOR GENERATING A DISTRESS TONE FROM AVEHICLE COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF TONE GENERATORS FOR PRODUCING APLURALITY OF DISTINCT TONES DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER, EACH OF SAID TONEGENERATORS HAVING AN OUTPUT; A MODULATOR HAVING AN INPUT AND AN OUTPUT,SAID MODULATOR INPUT COUPLED TO SAID PLURALITY OF TONE GENERATOR''SOUTPUT; A TRANSMITTER HAVING A MODULATOR INPUT AND OUTPUT, SAIDTRANSMITTER''S MODULATOR INPUT CONNECTED TO SAID MODULATOR''S OUTPUT; ANANTENNA COUPLED TO SAID TRANSMITTER''S OUTPUT; A PLURALITY OF SWITCHINGMEANS FOR COUPLING A POWER SOURCE TO ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF TONEGENERATORS AND SAID MODULATOR AND TRANSMITTER.